The 2014 Stock Market Investor Profile report of The Philippine Stock Exchange, Inc. (PSE) showed a continuous growth in the number of stock market online accounts.In 2014, online accounts surged by 35.1 percent to 174,592 from 129,255 in 2013. Of this total, 99.6 percent or 173,895 were retail accounts. Since 2009, online accounts have grown at a compounded annual growth rate of 43.9 percent.

"The growth in online accounts continues to be impressive and validates our strategy of expanding the retail investor base through this platform. Online accounts now comprise 27 percent of total stock market accounts from a mere 6 percent share in 2009," PSE President and CEO Hans B. Sicat said.

The data for online accounts was provided by 18 online brokerage firms, including those using the PSETradex platform.

Total Stock Market Accounts

Meanwhile, total investor accounts, which include traditional and online accounts, also rose to 640,665 in 2014, higher by 9.4 percent from the previous year's 585,562 total. Of the total investor accounts, 95.3 percent or 610,773 were retail accounts while the remaining 4.7 percent or 29,892 were institutional accounts. Majority of the accounts were held by local investors with a 98.5 percent share while 1.5 percent were foreign accounts.

"We are pleased that more investors actively participated in the market last year, when the PSEi gained almost 23 percent. There is still a long way to go in terms of reaching the one million target but we are definitely on the right track," Mr. Sicat added.

Stock market accounts were also more active in 2014 as 33.6 percent of total accounts traded at least once in 2014. This represents an increase from the 23.9 percent share of active accounts to total accounts in 2013. Online accounts have again proven to be more active accounts with a 64.6 percent share in the total online account universe.

Investors getting younger

The PSE also conducted a survey to profile the demographics of retail investors.The numbers generated from those who participated in the survey shows an increase in the share of investors aged 18-30 years old and those aged 31-44 years old, cornering 13.1 percent and 37.1 percent of investor accounts in 2014, respectively. In total, investors between 18-44 years old comprised 50.1 percent of stock market accounts in 2014 from a share of 46.4 percent in 2013.Among online accounts, the share of investors aged 18-44 to total online accounts in 2014 was higher at 73.9 percent.

The income profile of investors has also become more skewed to the lower income bracket.Those earning an annual income of P500,000 or less represented 44.0 percent of investor accounts in 2014 from 37.3 percent in 2013.For online accounts, the share of those earning P500,000 or less annually is also bigger at 60.0 percent.

Investor base expanding outside Metro Manila

The results of the survey also show an increasing participation from investors outside the Metro Manila area.While majority of the investors continued to be based in Metro Manila with 68.5 percent of the total retail accounts, this figure, however, is lower than the 77.7 percent recorded in 2013. This was due mostly to an increase in the number of investors based in Luzon which accounted for 18.7 percent of the accounts in 2014 from 13.2 percent in 2013. Retail investors from the Visayas and Mindanao comprised 4.4 percent and 2.3 percent of the total accounts, respectively. Investors based overseas accounted for 6.1 percent of the retail accounts, higher than the 2.4 percent share registered in 2013.

For online accounts, the share of investors in Metro Manila is even lower at 60.3 percent while those based in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao are higher at 22.4 percent, 7.0 percent, and 4.5 percent, respectively.

Mr. Sicat noted, "Technology levels the playing field in providing access to our stock market as shown by the higher share of online investors from Visayas and Mindanao. We are delighted that more brokers are now offering online trading services."

"We also noticed that people are starting to participate at a much younger age as shown by the increase in number of investors in the 18 to 44 age group," Mr. Sicat added.

Recognizing the scalability and efficiency of using technology platforms for its market education programs, the PSE introduced in 2014 its stock market 101 webinars and has continued to offer more this year, including webinars about exchange traded funds or ETFs.In 2014, the PSE also held various provincial roadshows in Batangas, Pampanga, Cebu, Cagayan de Oro and Davao.

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